Various contextual factors may impact the parent adolescent relationship and we control for socioeconomic status (SES) since fathering behaviors in both intact and stepfamilies have been linked with SES in past work. While lower SES fathers are more restrictive and punitive with their children (Parke & Buriel, 2006), and may show less involvement than higher SES fathers (Yeung, Sandberg, Davis-Kean, & Hofferth, 2001), the links between involvement and SES are weak and inconclusive (Pleck, 2010). Other evidence suggests that economic stress, which is often higher among poorer families, is positively related to harsh parenting (Parke et al., 2004). Similarly, Behnke and colleagues (2008) found parental stress to be associated with negative parenting behaviors for mothers. In addition to socioeconomic status, the current study also controls for marital quality. The marital relationship has been found to “spill over” into parent-child interactions. Low marital satisfaction has been linked with higher levels of distress in children (Fishman & Meyers, 2000). Thus, the current study controls for both socioeconomic status and marital quality.
